Tying the Knot
by jylener22
Summary: Ichigo and Orihime's big day has arrived at long last...with some minor pre-wedding jitters, but on whose side?
1. Waking Up Can Be Hard

Tying the Knot: Part 1

It started out as any other ordinary day. Orihime got up, stretched, bounced out of bed, started getting ready for the day and went about putting together a decent breakfast before it hit her. She was getting married in less than 6 hours.

Glancing down at her hand, she smiled and caressed the ring fitted to her finger that had been painstakingly chosen and even given by her long-loved fiancé. Sometimes it still gave her pause when Orihime considered that despite all that had happened to them over the years and all the crazy situations she had sometimes put him into, Ichigo wanted her to be his wife. In high school, before Ichigo had really started to notice her as anything other than a friend and somewhat of a comrade-in-arms (loosely used term of course, due to the fact that most of her time had been spent healing rather than hacking which was just as important if not more so), Orihime had sometimes daydreamed about dating Ichigo, getting married and spending the rest of their life together, but today that dream would become reality.

When they had finally graduated high school, Orihime had decided that while she could still love Ichigo as a friend, she would have to stop obsessing over him since it didn't seem that he would ever return her feelings. She had made a resolution to always be there for Ichigo as a friend whenever he needed her, just like she would do for any of her other friends. However, the rest of her friends had other plans since they all had known from the beginning how Orihime felt about Ichigo and they Ichigo discover that Orihime could be more than just a good friend. One thing led to another and now today Orihime would become Ichigo's bride.

Orihime was snapped out of her reverie by a firm knock on her door and a voice calling, "Orihime! You'd better be up by now! We need to get going!"

Jogging to the door, Orihime opened it with a glowing face and said, "Good morning, Tatsuki! Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Tatsuki sighed, "You're the only one I know that would call weather like this beautiful. Have you even looked outside?"

Looking over Tatsuki's shoulder, Orihime saw gray clouds covering the sky with darker ones a little farther in the distance before she responded, "Maybe it'll clear up later and even if it doesn't, we'll be inside and the flowers and plants will love a fresh drink of water."

Tatsuki stepped inside and gave Orihime a light bump on her shoulder, "Leave it to you to see the bright side on a dark and stormy night."

"But it's not nighttime, it's daytime."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes and decided to change the subject, "You need to finish getting dressed, otherwise I can't help you get ready."

Orihime looked at herself and realized that she was wearing her pajama bottoms, a peach colored shirt, mismatched socks and only one hairpin in her hair.

"I've heard brides can be jittery on the day of their wedding, but this…" Tatsuki gestured to Orihime's strange attire, "…this is just ridiculous even for you."

Orihime grinned and twirled in a circle, "You don't think I could start a new fashion trend?"

Tatsuki rubbed her forehead, "As strange and scary as it is, you actually could manage to do it."

Putting her hands in her hips Tatsuki ordered, "Enough fooling around. We've got things to get done and not nearly enough time to finish if you lollygag around here any longer."

Orihime saluted and started marching towards her bedroom when she heard Tatsuki call out, "Watch out!"

Before she had time to react, Orihime stepped on a magazine that had been tossed on the floor, slipped and was about to knock her head against the doorway when Tatsuki grabbed the back of Orihime's shirt and right arm and pulled her out of harm's way.

"Would you be more careful? How many times do I have to tell you not to leave stuff all over the floor?"

Orihime replied feebly, "Lots?"

"More times than I'd like to count!"

Tatsuki helped Orihime to her feet before she grumbled, "I almost feel sorry for Ichigo if he's going to have to spend most of your first year together keeping you from breaking half the furniture in the house, not to mention cracking open your own skull from all the slips and near falls you seem to have."

Orihime wrung her hands sheepishly, "You and Ichigo really do a lot for me. I wish I could do half as much for you as you do for me."

Tatsuki looked at Orihime for a long while before she wrapped her arms around her closest friend, "The best thing you can do for us is to never stop seeing the silver lining in any situation. And also, never change your laugh or smile."

Orihime put her arms around her best friend and said, "Thank you for everything, Tatsuki."

Tatsuki pulled away and said brusquely, "We need to get going. Just don't rush and injure yourself, otherwise Ichigo will never forgive me."


	2. Getting Ready Can Be Hard

Tying the Knot: Part 2

It might have been better if Tatsuki had not warned Orihime to be careful about injuring herself. No matter how hard Orihime tried to be cautious, somehow her precautionary measures were counteracted by some outside force. If she were trying to focus on not stepping on something then she would knock her shoulder on her closet door. If she tried to keep her arms close to her body then her head would bump against a low hanging light fixture. In the end, she only had two eyes in her head and even then they could only focus on one thing at a time. Besides, even with all the bumps and near falls, Orihime managed somehow not to develop any cuts or bruises. Finally, Orihime decided that being vigilante was not worth it and simply went about getting ready.

When Orihime finally emerged from within her 'Room of Mishaps', Tatsuki mumbled something about Ichigo going to have her head served at dinner if Orihime didn't make it to the church on time and without any 'battle wounds'. As she and Tatsuki headed out to start the official 'bridal treatment', Orihime thought back over all that had happened up to this point.

While Ichigo and Orihime had allowed others to help them plan their wedding (mostly Yuzu, since she had a keen sense for arranging big events), they had decided between the two of them that they would invite all their friends and comrades to a Western European wedding and then while everyone moved on for the reception, Ichigo, Orihime and Ichigo's family would hold a short traditional wedding ceremony before they would join their guests for a reception. At first, Orihime had been wanting to simply hold a traditional ceremony and then invite all their friends to a reception afterwards, until Ichigo had discovered the reason was that she simply didn't want Yuzu and the rest of his family to go to all the trouble of putting on a European wedding since her family was not there to help, especially when it came to paying the bills. Ichigo decided to leave the money issue alone and told Orihime that all their friends would be greatly disappointed if they couldn't witness this long-awaited event. Not having the heart to refuse her friends the pleasure of seeing them get married, Orihime agreed with pleasure.

Yuzu had delighted in helping Orihime search high and low for the perfect wedding ensemble. Karin had also come along on the shopping excursions, but only to keep her sister in check, or so she said. After watching the other two look at dress after dress for about four days on end, Karin finally turned to a rack in exasperation (she was quite hungry and irritable as it was well past lunch time), pulled a random dress out and all but threw it at Orihime saying, "Try this on and then let's get out of here!"

Orihime obliged, apologizing as she entered the fitting room about losing track of time, but then stopped midsentence as she gazed at herself in the mirror. Wanting to be sure that she wasn't just imagining things, she opened the door and knew she was right from the stunned looks on Yuzu and Karin's faces. The dress was perfect. It reminded her of a dress she had once seen in a cartoon movie entitled "Beauty and the Beast" when the heroine walks in to share a fancy dinner and a night of dancing with the beast/man she has fallen in love with. The soft, golden colored fabric was overlaid with a golden sheer fabric with small patterns of flowers sewn in at intervals. The flowers ranged from light pink to a deeper almost red pink. The top covered her chest while the same color sheer fabric gently bunched at the top. One strap went from the front of her left shoulder to the back of her right shoulder blade, to help hold the dress and it was sewn with the same golden fabric with the flowered patterns as the skirt. Looking at her left hand, the gold in the dress matched her engagement ring almost perfectly. It was most certainly not a wedding dress in the traditional sense, but it looked as if it had been made for her alone.

She gave Karin a radiant smile and said, "What do you think?"

Karin shook herself out of her stupor and said in a forced bored tone, "I guess it will do. Hurry up and change back so we can get something to eat."

Orihime walked over to the girl and gave her a hug saying, "Thank you…sister."

Turning to Yuzu, Orihime said as she gave her a hug, "You two have been so helpful. I can't thank you enough."

After they had purchased the dress, walked back to Orihime's car to put the dress carefully in the trunk and then set out to look for a good place to eat, Yuzu had begun chatting happily about anything that came to mind while Orihime contributed some and Karin mostly listened. Thinking to herself, Orihime was once again amazed at how quickly the Kurosaki family had accepted her into their circle. Some of her dates with Ichigo had turned into times spent with the entire Kurosaki family doing different things. It was hard to imagine life before dating Ichigo, not that her friends and their families were not friendly and very kind to her, but with the Kurosaki family she felt at home, something she had not felt ever since her brother died.

One decision that she had thought long and hard was if she would ask anyone to walk her down the aisle. She had no family that she knew of and no men that she had looked up to as a kind of father-figure other than her brother, Sora. Then she had an idea that she would walk halfway down the aisle on her own and then meet Isshin, Yuzu and Karin and have them escort her the rest of the way. When they reached Ichigo, the minister would change his question from "Who gives this woman away in marriage?" to "Who accepts this woman into their family?" or something like that since they were in all true senses making her one of the family. Not traditional, but no one in the Kurosaki family had protested when she presented the idea. In fact, Isshin had been so excited about the idea, Ichigo had had to drag him from the room in order to, literally, knock some sense into his overenthusiastic father. The first time Orihime had witnessed this strange way that Ichigo and his father interacted with one another when she had come over for dinner one night in the early days of her dating Ichigo, she had been mortified since the argument had started over the fact that Ichigo wanted his dad to back off and not bother her so much with his idiotic banter. Over time, she had gotten used to this interaction between father and son and sensed that despite their seemingly bitter quarrels that they really respected one another.

Orihime pulled herself out of her thoughts as she and Tatsuki arrived at the hair salon. Walking inside, she immediately spotted Yuzu, Karin, Rukia and Rangiku (the latter were both in gegais, just as the rest of the Soul Reapers would be at the wedding) and walked over with a bright smile.

"Hello everyone!"

Yuzu hurried over with a relieved look on her face, gave Orihime a hug and said, "I was worried you weren't going to make it on time what with Tatsuki's phone call about you almost injuring yourself this morning."

Karin walked up behind her sister and said, "I told you not to worry." Looking at Orihime, Karin continued, "She's been checking her phone constantly, convinced that Tatsuki was going to call again from an ambulance or something."

The conversation flowed comfortably as the friends all gathered around Orihime and she thanked heaven that even though she had no close relationships with any of her blood relatives, wherever and whoever they were, that she had managed to find three such wonderful friends willing to fight alongside her and Ichigo when the time came and two caring and accepting sisters-in-law. She was truly blessed.


	3. Waiting Can Be Hard

Tying the Knot: Part 3

"Will you knock it off with the fidgeting?"

"I am not nervous!"

"I never said anything about you being nervous, I said quit with the fidgeting. You're knocking the table. Go pace the floor or something else."

"You know, I'm starting to wonder why I asked you to be here in the first place."

"I'm wondering why I even agreed to this."

"I-I-I-I-chi-i-i-i-ooof!"

Uryu sighed as Ichigo calmly lowered his balled fist from Keigo's stomach and said, "You would think that after all these years, he would have learned."

Ichigo closed his eyes in resignation, "He never was the brightest of the bunch."

Renji walked up followed by Mizuiro and Chad saying, "Hey Ichigo! Where's a guy supposed to get something to drink around here?"

"There's a vending machine right outside in the hall."

Before Renji could even demand, Ichigo flippantly tossed a few coins in Renji's direction and said under his breath, "Amazing how the little things can help calm the nerves."

Chad sat down next to Ichigo at the table and asked, "You ready?"

To himself, Ichigo said, "And just like that, the moment passes." To Chad, he said, "As ready as I'll ever be. I'm mostly just wary because Yuzu insisted that I have my back turned as Orihime arrives, as if it were a real royal wedding."

Uryu asked, "Why would that bother you?"

Ichigo ran a hand over his ever unruly head of hair, "Because, you guys know what Orihime's like. All it takes is one little misstep and down she goes. I know she's only coming down the aisle part-way by herself, but still…"

Mizuiro looked at the opposite end of the room as he said, "Out of all the reasons that I imagined you might have for pre-wedding jitters that certainly didn't even cross my mind."

Uryu adjusted his glasses, "Ichigo does like to obsess over the weirdest things."

Ichigo was about to retort, when he heard the minister at the door say, "We're on, gentlemen."

Rising slowly to his feet, Ichigo suddenly felt numb that the moment he and Orihime had been looking forward to for the past eight months was finally here. He was getting married. Orihime was becoming his wife. Someone who would stay by his side in the good and bad times of life and who might bear him children in the future. Someone to build a family with him, all of whom he would be responsible for when it came to supporting and protecting them. For a moment, he began to convince himself that he would be no good as a husband and father since there were times that he couldn't even take care of himself. Hadn't he failed miserably the first time he faced the top ranking Espadas and almost lost Orihime for good as a result not to mention many of his closest friends?

Ichigo was pulled from his depression, by a steady hand and low voice saying, "You'll be ok, Ichigo."

Deep, steadying breath, then Ichigo said, "Thanks Chad."

The next few minutes passed in something of a blur as Ichigo, Chad (his best man), Mizuiro, Uryu and Renji followed the minister to their places at the front of the church. After what seemed like an eternity, the music began signaling the arrival of Orihime's bridesmaids. Rangiku began the procession followed by Karin, Yuzu, Rukia and ending with Tatsuki as Orihime's Maid of Honor. Ichigo managed to process that the bridesmaids were all wearing dresses of varying styles to suit each woman but all in the same shade of rose pink, carrying a bouquet of pink roses to match the dresses with tiny seed pearls set inside some of the flowers as accents and their hair all pulled up in various, flattering styles. When Tatsuki reached her position at the front of the church, Ichigo remembered that this was his cue to turn around.

With his back turned, Ichigo's ears caught more sounds coming from behind him. The music changed to a more elegant selection and he heard the rustle of clothing as the assembly rose as one to honor the bride. Soft gasps and sounds of awe floated towards him from the onlookers, and he was half-tempted to sneak a peek, but sensed several pairs of eyes from the bridesmaid section boring holes in the back of his head making sure he didn't see the bride before he was supposed to. With an inaudible sigh, Ichigo figured he could wait a little longer. Soon, he heard the soft rustle of fabric close behind him and he caught a breath of a familiar, light, fresh, flowery scent and knew his bride had arrived. His mind was so occupied, that he barely registered his father's voice answering a question posed by the minister. He was brought back to the present by his father's hand grasping his own and gently placing a smaller, softer and rather cool hand into Ichigo's own slightly sweaty one. Closing his eyes for a moment, Ichigo took a breath to steady his nerves and then turned to look at Orihime.

For a moment, all he could see were Orihime's eyes, fixed upon him with a look of utter joy and contentment. He noticed that her facial features had been enhanced in beauty by the use of make-up, but there seemed to be a glow emanating from her that had nothing to do with cosmetics. There was something different about her today that had nothing to do with her wedding apparel.

Ichigo was never sure how he managed to make it through the ceremony without stumbling over the vows when his mind was not focused on anything other than Orihime. Months later, Ichigo would watch a video of the ceremony and comment on how he didn't remember much of anything after he first saw Orihime.

The one sentence that penetrated through his occupied thoughts was, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Thinking that he should make sure that this wasn't a dream, Ichigo slowly raised a hand and caressed Orihime's cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone. Orihime gave him a searching look for a moment, before she placed both her hands around his neck and massaged the back of his head soothingly. Instinctively, Ichigo lowered his head and kissed his wife…


	4. But It Can All Be Worthwhile

Tying the Knot: Part 4

Orihime was worried. Ever since the wedding had ended, it seemed like Ichigo had retreated into himself and merely went through everything mechanically. At least, that was what she sensed. She had to admit, Ichigo looked and acted as though nothing was wrong, but whenever she looked at his eyes…

Mentally shaking herself, Orihime was convinced that if something was bothering Ichigo that he would tell her about it when he was ready. For the time being, she needed to enjoy all her friends celebrating her wedding with her and Ichigo. At least, she needed to try to enjoy her time. Yuzu had put her heart into planning her wedding and all their human and Soul Reaper friends had taken the time to come witness the marriage, so it was the least Orihime could do.

Orihime returned Hinamori's hug and said, "Thank you so much for coming."

Hinamori gave her a small smile in return, "It was a lovely wedding. Thank you for inviting me."

Before Orihime could respond, she heard a voice say, "So Orihime, how does it feel to be married at last?"

Turning to respond, Orihime decided that worrying about Ichigo would not be fair to him or their guests and spent time talking and laughing with others around the reception hall. While she was not vain about her appearance, Orihime couldn't help but bask in the praises of her wedding dress and beautifully coifed hair, which was twisted and curled in a most becoming manner with a string of seed pearls interwoven throughout her silky tresses with two dark pink roses set at the back of her head. The only jewelry she wore were her brother's pins, a bracelet that had been a birthday gift from the Kurosaki family and Ichigo's rings. Pieces representing her past, present and future.

She was so absorbed in her conversation with Rangiku, Rukia and Tatsuki that Orihime didn't sense Ichigo coming up behind her until he put an arm around her shoulders.

Reaching up and clasping his hand, Orihime turned to meet Ichigo's gaze and asked, "How are you?"

Ichigo didn't answer immediately, but raised his free hand to gently stroke her face before he said, "Will you come with me for a minute?"

Orihime nodded, excused herself and allowed Ichigo to lead her from the hall. They walked in silence through the building until Ichigo opened the door for them to go outside. Orihime walked a little ahead of Ichigo in order to inspect a cozy little garden set up to the side of the reception hall. Bending to get a closer look at one of the flowers, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Ichigo was looking at her as he leaned against the wall of the building.

Still in a crouching position, Orihime looked at Ichigo and gave him a soft smile, "So, how are you? You never answered me earlier."

Ichigo took a deep breath before he answered, "It's a lot to get used to. Did we really…"

Orihime rose to her feet as Ichigo faltered for the words, "What's wrong?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and asked a question of his own, "Why?"

Orihime blinked, "Why what?"

"Why…me?" Ichigo asked almost imperceptibly, "Dr. Keita…the day I was going to propose to you…he said that you saw something in me. Something that no one else sees."

Looking at the sky, he continued, "I love you, Orihime. It took me so long to realize just how much you mean to me. I know you love me too and you waited for me to return your feelings for years. But what…what if I'm not good enough. Not good enough to be-"

Ichigo was cut off as Orihime kissed him. As he had been talking, Orihime had slowly approached him until she was standing in front of him. He returned the kiss and slowly pulled away to see tears glistening in her eyes.

Orihime reached up and cradled Ichigo's face between her hands as she said, "Most people see you as someone who is willing to sacrifice everything, even his life, to save those he cares about or those who ask for his help and that is true. You are a man of high standards when it comes to anything you set your mind to. You are not satisfied until you meet your goals. You are someone who is able to care deeply about someone once you have formed a bond with that person."

Orihime paused for a moment, "However, you are not perfect Ichigo. You can work towards being the best doctor, father, husband, Soul Reaper, and man you can possibly be and I will do my utmost to be the most supporting and understanding wife that I can be for you."

Taking his arm, Orihime led him into the garden, then turned and said lightly, "The fact that you have the most easily identifiable head of hair I have ever beheld certainly helped me single you out from all the other guys."

Ichigo folded his arms, "Oh, making fun of my hair, are we? Well, without this hair getting me into so many scraps as a kid, I probably would have never become as tough as I am now. Besides, it's fortunate your cooking was so bad for the longest time otherwise some other guy might have snatched you up before I had a chance to react."

Orihime's eyes widened, "Was it really that bad? It always tasted fine to me."

"Anyway," Ichigo said as he stepped forward, "I guess I'll have to get used to having you around a lot more frequently."

Orihime smiled, "Would that really be such a bad thing?"

Ichigo lifted her left hand to his lips and said, "Let me see."

Ichigo lowered his lips to Orihime's waiting mouth. The kiss was deep and rich like a piece of chocolate melting over one's tongue.

Pulling away, Ichigo smiled, "Nope. I think I could get used to this."

Laughing, Orihime straightened Ichigo's tie, "Well anyway, you do look nice in a tuxedo, but I really do think you look better in more casual clothes or your Soul Reaper uniform."

Holding Orihime at arms' length, Ichigo said, "Speaking of wedding finery, I never told you just how…" he posed in a thoughtful manner, "…radiant you are tonight."

Twirling in a circle, Orihime smiled, "Do you really think I look nice?"

Ichigo stepped back in mock shock, "Why Orihime, I never knew you were so vain!"

Orihime stopped, looking mortified, "Oh no! I didn't mean it that way!"

Ichigo laughed and pulled her against his chest, "I'm kidding. You couldn't be vain or arrogant even if you tried."

The two remained out in the garden for some time while their well-wishers went forward with a reception without the couple of honor, but no one cared. The couple basked in the moonlight softly illuminating the garden and the other's face. Without realizing what was happening, the bonds of friendship and love were being bound together in what some would call "the bonds of marriage", but if you were to ask Ichigo and Orihime 'bonds' would be an incorrect term to use since it implies restraint and unwillingness. Instead, they might have said that they were creating a new heart and soul together in marriage. Two becoming one.


End file.
